AI Japanese metal band becomes real-life after creator hires actual musicians
SMRTR summary
What began as digital trickery has transformed into sold-out concert venues across Japan. NEON ONI, a kawaii metal band with over 79,000 monthly Spotify listeners and 1.2 million streams on their hit "SATORi SEDAi," was entirely AI-generated until fan demand forced their mysterious creator to hire real musicians.
The seven-member group fooled listeners for months before eagle-eyed fans spotted telltale AI glitches in music videos. Their creator, known only as KAGE, eventually came clean about the digital origins.
"What began as a small experiment born inside a machine was never meant to be heard, let alone grow into something real. But people listened. People cared," reads their Spotify bio.
Now KAGE has hired seven flesh-and-blood performers to embody the virtual band members, with tours scheduled across Japan from Shibuya to Osaka. All previous merchandise profits went to Japanese charities, KAGE told reporters, while admitting that streaming revenue alone couldn't sustain the ambitious crossover from pixels to performance halls.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Hacker News.
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